♥ Inspiration: Read this meme and if it resonates with you,  I invite you to read on…

♥ Insight: Something for you to ponder…

If you’re one of those ‘I’m not always too sure about this parenting thing’ sort of parents, you’re in good company. There are very few parents who feel fully competent all of the time when it comes to raising their children. (The chances are, if you have met one of these rare parents who claim to have it all going on, they make your hackles rise and you try to avoid them!) Truth be told, many of us are figuring it out as we go.

Over the years I have had the good fortune of meeting many brilliant and wonderful people who are considered to be leading experts in the field of parenting and child development… but I’m yet to meet one who thinks they have all the answers. In fact, I’d be very wary if they did!

To the best of my knowledge, every parent on the planet has moments (or days or weeks or sometimes longer) when we doubt ourselves. I think that because we’re such caring and invested parents many of us are being too hard on ourselves. We need to know that we’re not alone when we’re feeling that we’re not measuring up. Those like us with soft hearts likely feel a similar way…but we can’t afford to get stuck in it.

Wanting to be the very best people for our children comes from a place of good intention, and it’s essential that we yearn to be better, but when we become consumed by it we begin to live in a constant state of fear and insecurity thinking that we’re not measuring up. Over time this erodes our self confidence and our belief that we are indeed our children’s best bet. That’s never a good thing.

Have you ever considered that maybe we’re comparing ourselves to a parenting gold standard that exists only in our imagination?

While the self imposed misguided notion that we’re not measuring up may well motivate us to try even harder, it also takes us outside of ourselves and often leads us astray. We find ourselves lost and disoriented in a maze filled with comparisons of self to others, conflicting sources of information that we can’t sift through fast enough, complicated strategies that we don’t find to be intuitive and lofty self expectations that we can’t seem to live up to. It’s no wonder that so many parents today are in a state of overwhelm!

I’d like to suggest that we make a conscious effort to step away from the noise in our own heads and that which surrounds us. Instead, let’s give our attention to the little glimmers of inner knowing that are sparked when we hear or read words that do feel right and ring true to us. These are the glints amongst the distraction that will join together to become strings of guiding lights that will lead us back to what we have always known but may have forgotten. We know more than we think.

♥ Intention: If you feel moved to set an intention for today, this could be it…

Today I will step back from trying to do this ‘parenting thing’ perfectly and will instead pay attention to what resonates with me throughout my day. Rather then desperately seeking information with which to fill my head, I will allow myself to be more aware of what speaks to my heart. I know more than I allow myself to believe and starting today,  I will be more open to considering that this is indeed true.

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